Productivity

Why We Should Stop Obsessing Over Productivity

At SuperheroYou, we talk a lo about productivity and time management. After all, being a real-life superhero is about making the most of your time on this planet. You can’t do that if you’re overwhelmed by all the minutiae of work – or worse, lying around watching Netflix every day.

But lately, it seems like every day, there’s a new app to help organize your to-do list or a new hot technique of the moment. Sure, maybe we’re all just terrible at time management (and many signs point that way). But I’m starting to wonder: have we become too obsessed?

Don’t get me wrong; I love a the productivity and time management techniques I learn about – I don’t think I could handle this job if I didn’t. And they’ve helped me tremendously in various aspects of my life.

But the old maxim “everything in moderation,” should apply to time management, too.

I once heard that instead of scheduling your work time, you should schedule your free time instead. It was an appealing thought – for about 30 seconds. Then I realized that I’m never going to be one of those people, and I’m totally OK with that.

I like being productive. I love checking off all my work to-do lists. But I don’t want to schedule my weekends the way I schedule my weekdays. Sure, I’ll have a list of things I want to accomplish. But if I don’t get them done? No big deal. I’ll do them another day. If I can hang out with the friends I rarely get to see and blow off my laundry, so what?

I’m sure most people feel the way I do. But in the self-improvement world, there are a lot of people who insist that this is a bad thing to do. How could I possibly be drinking when I could be working on my next big project?

If this is you, I say: RELAX.

Yes, saving the world and being productive is important. But I want to actually care about the world I’m saving. And in my world, this doesn’t allow for constantly worrying about the next big thing I should be doing.

I’ve already lived an insanely busy life, when I couldn’t schedule a date with a friend for 2 weeks because I literally didn’t have the time. And although we’ve talked before about the pitfalls of being busy, I was actually productive too, juggling several products at once. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the time out for self-care since I didn’t think that counted as being productive. And so I became mean and snappy and somewhat unpleasant to be around, constantly worried about how to manage my schedule.

If this sounds familiar, my advice is to take a break this weekend. Stop worrying about what you have to do and your schedule and how you’re not getting enough done. Spend time with your loved ones. Enjoy the first taste of fall. Go look at the moon!

At SuperheroYou, we talk a lo about productivity and time management. After all, being a real-life superhero is about making the most of your time on this planet. You can’t do that if you’re overwhelmed by all the minutiae of work – or worse, lying around watching Netflix every day.

But lately, it seems like every day, there’s a new app to help organize your to-do list or a new hot technique of the moment. Sure, maybe we’re all just terrible at time management (and many signs point that way). But I’m starting to wonder: have we become too obsessed?

Don’t get me wrong; I love a the productivity and time management techniques I learn about – I don’t think I could handle this job if I didn’t. And they’ve helped me tremendously in various aspects of my life.

But the old maxim “everything in moderation,” should apply to time management, too.

I once heard that instead of scheduling your work time, you should schedule your free time instead. It was an appealing thought – for about 30 seconds. Then I realized that I’m never going to be one of those people, and I’m totally OK with that.

I like being productive. I love checking off all my work to-do lists. But I don’t want to schedule my weekends the way I schedule my weekdays. Sure, I’ll have a list of things I want to accomplish. But if I don’t get them done? No big deal. I’ll do them another day. If I can hang out with the friends I rarely get to see and blow off my laundry, so what?

I’m sure most people feel the way I do. But in the self-improvement world, there are a lot of people who insist that this is a bad thing to do. How could I possibly be drinking when I could be working on my next big project?

If this is you, I say: RELAX.

Yes, saving the world and being productive is important. But I want to actually care about the world I’m saving. And in my world, this doesn’t allow for constantly worrying about the next big thing I should be doing.

I’ve already lived an insanely busy life, when I couldn’t schedule a date with a friend for 2 weeks because I literally didn’t have the time. And although we’ve talked before about the pitfalls of being busy, I was actually productive too, juggling several products at once. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the time out for self-care since I didn’t think that counted as being productive. And so I became mean and snappy and somewhat unpleasant to be around, constantly worried about how to manage my schedule.

If this sounds familiar, my advice is to take a break this weekend. Stop worrying about what you have to do and your schedule and how you’re not getting enough done. Spend time with your loved ones. Enjoy the first taste of fall. Go look at the moon!